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Thompson Valley High's Hannah McCrimmon tops All-Area volleyball team

By Mike Brohard Sports Editor

Posted:
12/10/2012 09:27:58 PM MST

Hannah McCrimmon of Thompson Valley High School (center) leads the Reporter-Herald All-Area volleyball team selections as the player of the year. She is joined on the squad by (from left), Loveland's Kim Weissmann, Carly Flock and Brooke Hansen; Resurrection Christian's Preston Lienemann; Emily Newton of TVHS and Mountain View's Nicole Goddard. Not pictured is Roosevelt's Breanne Hankins.
(Mike Brohard)

When the season began, expectations weren't all that grand.

The Thompson Valley High School volleyball team had lost its three most productive hitters from a season ago, meaning the Eagles were breaking in a whole new crop of threats.

"I think we surprised ourselves," junior Hannah McCrimmon said. "Going in, we were the underdogs. We didn't have any targets on our back this year, so that gave us a chance to go out and show everybody you didn't have to have big names or big seniors to be successful."

But the good news was McCrimmon was back, and for the junior setter's ability to break in a new flock of swingers and set them up to make them productive to the tune the Eagles were a top-10 team in Class 4A, she is the Reporter-Herald's All-Area volleyball team player of the year.

Breanne Hankins
(
Steve Stoner
)

"It's hard to imagine planning a season without Hannah being there," TVHS coach Nathan Fristed said, adding she's a warrior on the floor and a natural leader. "Being the athlete that she is, no matter where we put the ball, she's able to get under it and make a good decision with that ball. She does like to spread it out; she likes to get everyone involved so that everybody is keyed into the match. She does a great job of reading the kids and putting them in good situations."

Also joining her on the team are Thompson Valley teammate Emily Newton; Loveland's Carly Flock, Brooke Hansen and Kim Weissmann; Nicole Goddard of Mountain View; Roosevelt's Breanne Hankins and Resurrection Christian's Preston Lienemann. Of the group, only Flock is a senior.

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McCrimmon admitted it took a few matches to get everybody into the flow, saying the loss to Mountain View early was an eye opener. She wasn't all that interested in taking much credit, but other coaches noticed the Eagles were much better than anticipated, and they pointed to her as the catalyst.

"I mean, the talent is there offensively," McCrimmon said. "It was working on the passing, and I think we did a good job of catering to the skill-set to the people on our team and making it work with what we have.

"Really, it was just paying close attention to what the girls did like and what they could work off of. I wasn't perfect in that, and I had a great team that could make the most out of whatever I did give them. A lot of the kudos go to them for that."

Her floor leadership was crucial, no matter the situation. Her ability to read her teammates and the other side of the net led to a season of 589 assists, chipping in 33 kills, 23 aces and 211 digs. She is the type of player, Fristed said, who hears what the coach is asking and hits the floor to make sure it happens. McCrimmon had the confidence under her belt to that after having an All-Area campaign in 2011.

"I think the year before was helpful in just getting the nerves out of my system so I could focus on just going out and playing the games," she said. "I'm so fortunate to be able to go out there and play a game I'm so passionate about. It's more just going out there and doing what I love."

Flock -- The senior was an All-Front Range League selection as a libero and chosen to the senior all-state game after being a force and leader in the Indians' back row. She finished with 297 digs, and while she only had three aces, more impressive was the fact she had just two service errors.

Goddard -- The junior outside hitter was the one opposing teams game-planned for when facing the Mountain Lions. Emotional and fiery on the court, she had 285 kills while hitting .218 on the season, putting up 15 aces, 62 total blocks and 442 digs.

Hankins -- The RoughRiders relied on the outside hitter to be potent each and every night, and she was. She led the team with 258 kills, hitting at a .253 clip from the outside with 21 aces and 427 digs.

Hansen -- The Indians' sophomore was a rare combination of setter/middle in the 6-2 set, and was sharp in both of her roles. She hit .381 while putting down 139 kills, posted 15 aces, 120 total blocks and finished with 264 assists.

Lienemann -- Opponents of Resurrection Christian knew the sophomore was coming and still couldn't do much of anything about it as he posted 381 kills on the season, hitting .237. She added 53 aces and 167 digs for the state-qualifiers.

Newton -- The junior plugged up the middle for the Eagles, no matter which way the ball was flying. She put down 183 kills while hitting .273 on the year. She also added 14 aces while posting 59 total blocks.

Weissmann -- The junior played high and swung with force for the Indians in becoming a targeted hitter. She hit an impressive .269 from the outside with 194 kills and 26 aces.

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